


Exception to the Rule

by fandomnerd



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, punk!annabeth, sweater!percy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-10
Updated: 2013-11-10
Packaged: 2018-01-01 01:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1038596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomnerd/pseuds/fandomnerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Punk!Annabeth meets Preppy!Percy's mother for the first time. It goes better than she expects.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Exception to the Rule

**Author's Note:**

  * For [suchastart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchastart/gifts).



> This is inspired by suchastart's punkabeth/sweater!percy fic, which can be found here: http://suchastart.tumblr.com/post/66535530066/percy-annabeth-in-which-punk-annabeth-is-totally
> 
> You should all go read it.

Annabeth is used to adults dismissing her because of the way she looks. It’s easier that way—no expectations means she can do whatever she wants, and no one will bother her. Annabeth’s not really into putting in effort without a guarantee that she’ll get something back, and adults are always a toss-up. Even if you meet their expectations to a T, there’s no guarantee they’ll care about you, or even be pleased with you. Better to stave that off from the get-go.

Anyway, she doesn’t like adults, adults don’t like her, she’s happy with that. In fact, she’s pretty much happy with most people in general not liking her. Which is why this knot in her stomach as she carefully picks her clothes is bothering her so much. She doesn’t know why she’s so nervous. She’s just meeting Percy’s mom. Who cares if Percy’s mom likes her or not—Percy loves her (Percy _loves_ her; gods help her, just thinking about it makes a dopey smile spread across her face. Not that she’d ever admit to being capable of such an expression). That’s more than enough for her.

But still. Percy is like, super attached to his mom, in a way that’s completely foreign to Annabeth. And Annabeth wants to make a good impression despite herself.

Still, she’s not willing to sacrifice her sense of self to impress Sally, no matter whose mom she is. So she doesn’t try to cover up the shaved half of her head, arranges her hair in its messy crimped curls on the other side. She keeps in all of her piercings, doesn’t try to hide those, either. She puts on a pair of her nicer jeans—they’re not skinny jeans, and they don’t have rips in them, which make them unique among her other pairs. She throws on a black t-shirt and her favorite faded orange sweatshirt, and hopes Percy wasn’t expecting a miracle.

She knocks on the door to his apartment at a quarter to one on a Sunday—his mother/son bonding day, as it were. He answers the door so fast that she imagines him waiting eagerly by the door like a puppy, and the image is so cute that she can’t help but smile at him. His face melts into one of those big soppy grins he reserves just for her, and he shuts the door a little bit behind him, throwing his forearm up against the doorframe and leaning against it.

She feels a sudden uncharacteristic burst of shyness, so she cocks an eyebrow, putting a hand on her hip instead. “Well, Seaweed Brain? You gonna invite me in or what?”

His eyes crinkle and he ducks down, tangles one of his hands in her hair and kisses her. She lets herself melt into it, wrapping her arms around his waist and tugging him closer to her. He pulls back after a minute, leans his forehead against hers. He’s still smiling at her stupidly, and she feels like she’s about to start blushing, which, _no_.

“What are you smiling at, fish face?”

“You. You look really cute.”

She pulls back one of her arms from around his waist and punches him in the shoulder. “Shut up, Percy. Let’s get this over with.” She pulls away from him, about to march around him and into his apartment, whether he’s with her or not, when he grabs her arm.

“Hey,” he says, looking into her eyes in that really genuine way he has, like there is not a single thing more important to him in the entire world than her, “She’s going to love you, okay?”

Annabeth nods curtly, and his fingers drift down from her elbow, tangling with hers.

They step into the apartment together, and there’s Sally, pouring popcorn from a bag into a big bowl. She’s pretty, with kind eyes, and she still gives off that very “mom” vibe that Annabeth first got when she saw her at Percy’s swim meet. Sally looks up from the popcorn, and Annabeth braces herself. She sees Sally’s eyes flicker to their joint hands, to whatever expression is on Percy’s face. Annabeth doesn’t know—she’s staring at Sally, refusing to back down. A smile, warm as sunshine and sweet as honey spreads over her face, and oh, Sally’s eyes do that crinkle thing too, that must be where Percy got it.

Sally wipes her hands on a dishtowel and strides over to them. “It’s so lovely to meet you, Annabeth! Percy’s told me so much about you.” Then she does the last thing Annabeth expects, and wraps her in a hug. When she pulls back, she keeps one arm wrapped around Annabeth, leading her to the couch. She gives Annabeth a conspiratorial smirk. “Come dear, why don’t we sit while Percy brings us the snacks.”

Annabeth hears Percy grumble a little under his breath before going to do as his mom says, and she chuckles a little bit, a grin spreading across her face of its own volition. She thinks she can see why Percy gets along with his mom so well; Sally Jackson might just be the exception to her rule.


End file.
